Curtain crane support



Nov. 1, 1932. .4. H. BOYE CURTAIN CRANE SUPPORT Filed April 18. 1932 Jams KB ,the window frame.

Patented Nov. 1, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE JAMES H. BOYE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES H. BOYE. MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS CURTAIN CRANE snrron'r Application filed April 18,

This invention relates to the art of curtain cranes, andhas reference more particularly to a new and improved crane support.

A well known type of curtain crane con1- prises a supporting bracket formed with registering upper and lower holes, and acurtain suspension rod formed with a rectanguilarly bent stem-or shank that engages with the holes of the supporting bracket, whereby the crane and curtain can be readily swung outwardly away from the window to permit washing of the latter or for any other purpose. These cranes are usually used in pairs, one at each upper'corner of the window frame to support side curtains or drapes; and a considerable diiiiculty heretofore experienced has been to secure the proper and accurate mounting of the cranes and their supporting brackets so that the curtain supporting rods of the cranes will lie perfectly horizontal and in accurate alignment with each other. The weight of the curtains, of course, creates a sagging tendency of the rods; and, unless the supporting brackets are carefully mounted, the rods are/likely to tilt either upwardly or downwardly more or less, presenting Very unsightlyappearance. The principal object of the presentinvention is to provide a structure of crane support such that extreme accuracy in the mounting .of the support will be unnecessary,and if the curtain-suspending rod of the crane, when the latter is mounted in the bracket, is found to be more or less off from a'true horizontal po'sition,"it can readily be brought to the latter by the simple manipulation of an'adjusting device'mounted on the support itself and engaged with the stem or shank of the crane in such a manner as to effect the easy levelling of the curtain-suspending rod from either an upwardly or. a downwardly tilted position. Another fault inherent in the ordinary window crane consists of a tendency to swing forwardly or rearwardly out of a true position substantially parallel with the plane of For instance, when either the upper or lower sash is open, the wind will frequently engage with the curtain, as a sail, and thus swing the crane outwardly away from the'window; or a suction draft 1932. Serial No. 605,816.

acting on the curtain may swing the crane inwardly;'1n either event displacing the crane from its proper POSltlOIl; A further ob ect of the present invention is to PIOVlClG a simple and automatic yleldable lock that Wlll readily engage with the rod or arm of the crane when the latter is swung inwardly and will yleldably hold 1t against accidental outward swing. A still further object is to provide a simple stop device that will limit the inward swing of the crane toward the window frame .1

so as to prevent it from moving beyond a position substantially parallel with the frame.

Preferably, and in the form herein illus-v trated, the yieldable lock and stop are combined in a single structure. r 1 Still other objects and attendant advantages of the invention will be apparent to per-- sons familiar with devices of this class from right angles to that of Fig.2 taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2, tne position of the crane in the bracket being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 4 is an isolated top plan view of the supporting bracket and lock and stop device. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a supporting bracket, showing the crane shank adjusting device mounted on the lower limb of the bracket.

Fig. 7 is a plan section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6..

Referring to the drawing, 1 may designate the vertical stiles and 2 the top bar of a window frame; the upper sash being indicated fra-gmentarily at 3.

' 011 the opposite ends of the topbar2 are mounted the crane supporting brackets, the

structural details of which are best illustrated in Figs. 2 to 5 inclusive. These supporting brackets are duplicates, and each comprises, in the form shown, a horizontally disposed U-shaped member comprising upper and lower limbs 1 and 5, an intermediate limb 6, and upwardly and downwardly bent flanges 7 and 8 apertured to receive fastening screws 9. The upper and lower limbs 4: and 5 of the'bracket are formed with registering holes 10 and 11 respectively (Fig. 3) which form bearings for the shank 12 of the crane; the horizontal curtain suspending arm or rod of the crane being designated by 13. In the form shown, the shank 12 extends through both holes 10 and 11, and by reference to Figs. 3 and 5, it will be observed that the lower hole 11 is elongated in a direction transverse to the supporting bracket.

Pivotedat 14 to the inner side of the intermediate limb 6 of the bracket is an arm 15 that is formed with a laterally bent lower end portion 16 formed with a hole 17 (Figs. 3 and 5) that embraces the shank 12 adjacent to the lower elongated hole 11. This arm 15 is formed with an upwardly struck lug 18 having a tapped hole to receive an adjusting screw 19. The screw 19 is rotatably supported on the intermediate limb 6 of the bracket, conveniently within a forked lug 20 cut and bent rearwardly from an edge portion of the limb 6. The head of the screw 19 overlaps the outer side of the forked lug 20, and the screw is formed with a collar 21 that similarly overlaps the inner side of the lug 20. The head 19 and collar 21 thus serve to prevent endwise movement of the screw 19 when the latter is rotated. V

\Vhen the bracket has been mounted on the window frame, as shown in Fig. 1, and the shank 12 of the crane is mounted in the bracket as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, if the arm 13 of window frame with extreme accuracy to insure the correct ositions of the arms 13.

In Figs. 6 an 7 I illustrate a slight modification, wherein the adjusting arm 15, which is structurally similar to the arm 15 except for its laterally bent lower end, is pivotally mounted on the lower arm'5 of the bracket,

and is equipped with the same adjusting screw. However, the form shown in Figs. 1

to 5 inclusive is preferred, since it enables the adjusting device to be employed on a shorter bracket than is possible in the arrangement shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

My invention also comprehends the features of a yieldable lock for holding each crane in a position substantially parallel with the plane of the window frame and insuring the accurate alignment in a horizontal plane of the arms 13. In the form herein shown, this yieldable lock consists of a spring arm 22 (Fig. 1) mounted on and crosswise of the upper limb 4 of the bracket, and a seat member 23 formed asa laterally bent extension of the free end of the spring arm 22. As best shown in Fig. 2, the seat 23 is provided on its outer side with a cam lip 24 over which the arm 13 snaps to enter the seat as said arm is swung rearwardly to normal position substantially parallel with the plane of the window frame. This spring supported seat 23 normally locks the arm or rod 13 in its normal position against accidental influences, such as drafts of wind, tending to displace it. But when it may be desired to swing the crane outwardly, this may readily be done by a simple outward pull on the curtain, C, suspended from the crane; and, similarly, an inward thrust on the curtain sufiices to cause the rod 13 to snap back into its seat 23.

I also provide a stop device to prevent the arm 13 of the crane from tilting or swinging inwardly or toward the window frame beyond the proper position. This stop device is preferably combined with the yieldable lock above described, and, as best shown in Fig. 2, may consist of a vertically disposed loop 25 integrally connecting the seat 23 with the free end of the spring arm 22.

The intermediate limb of the bracket is preferably provided with an ornament O covering its outer side for the purpose of concealing the slight mutilation of the limb 6 caused by forming the screw supporting lugs 20. Incidentally, it will be observed by reference to Figs. 3 and 5 that suflicient play is allowed between the screw 19 and the forks of the lug and between the head 19 and collar 21 of the screw to permit the slightly arcuate movement of the inner end of the screw.

Manifestly the crane supporting bracket more or less inaccurate mountings of the bracket, but also renders unnecessary the hereinabove described not only takes care of gles to its curtain suspension arm 13, since,

if the shank is slightly off a ninety degree angle to the arm, this can be compensated for by proper manipulation of the shank in the bracket as above described. It will also be observed that the adjusting screw 19 is selflocking with respect to the adjusting arm 15 in any position to which the latter may have been shifted,

I have herein shown and described a simple and practical embodiment of the principle of the invention well adapted to eifectuate the stated purposes and objects thereof; but I wish it to be understood that the details of structure and arrangement may be variously modified within the purview and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A curtain crane support, comprising a bracket formed witha hole to receive the pivot shank of the crane, a shiftable member mounted on said bracket and engageable with said shank, and means for adjusting said shiftable member.

2. A curtain crane support, comprising a bracket formed with a hole to receive the pivot shank of a crane, a shiftable member mounted on said bracket and engageable with said shank, and self-locking means for adjusting said shiftable member in either of two opposite directions.

3. A curtain crane support, comprising a bracket formed with upper and lower holes to receive the pivot shank of the crane, at least one of said holes being elongated in a direction transverse to said bracket, a shiftable member mounted in said bracket, and engageable with said shank, and means for adjusting said shiftable member.

4. A curtain crane support, comprising a bracket formed with upper and lower holes to receive the pivot shank of the crane, at least one of said holes being elongated in a direction transverse to said bracket, a shiftable member mounted in said bracket and formed to straddle said shank, and selflocking means for adjusting said shiftable member in either of two opposite directions.

5. A curtain crane support, comprising a bracket formed with a hole to receive the pivot shank of the crane, a shiftable member pivoted on a limb of said bracket and formed to straddle said shank, and an adjusting screw mounted on said bracket and engaged with said shiftable member to adjust the latter in either of two opposite directions.

6. A curtain crane support, comprising a bracket, formed with a hole to receive the pivot shank of the crane, an arm pivoted at one end on a limb of said bracket and at its free end formed to straddle said shank, and an adjusting screw mounted on said bracket and engaged with said arm between the pivoted and free ends of the latter whereby to adjust said arm in either of two opposite directions.

7. A curtain crane support, comprising a horizontally disposed U-shaped bracket formed with registering holes in its upper and lower limbs to receive the pivot shank of the crane, one of said holes being elongated in a direction transverse to said bracket, an arm pivoted at one end on a limb of said bracket and at its free end formed to straddle said shank, an adjusting screw rotatably mounted on said bracket and engaged with a tapped hole in said arm, and means con-' fining said screw against endwise movement when rotated.

8. A curtain crane support, comprising a horizontally disposed U-shaped bracket formed with registering holes in its upper and lower limbs to receive the pivot shank of the crane, said lower hole being elongated in a direction transverse to said bracket, an arm pivoted at one end on a limb of said bracket and at its free end formed to straddle said shank adjacent to said lower hole, an adjusting screw rotatably mounted on said bracket and engaged with a tapped hole in said arm, and means confining said screw against endwise movement when rotated.

9. A curtain crane support, comprising a horizontally disposed U-shaped bracket formed with registering holes in its upper and lower limbs to receive the pivot shank of the crane, said lower hole being elongated in a direction transverse to said bracket, an arm pivoted at its upper end to the intermediate limb of the bracket and having its lower end portion bent laterally and apertured to straddle said shank adjacent to said lower hole, an adjusting screw rotatably mounted on said bracket and engaged with a tapped hole in said arm, and means confining said screw against endwise movement When rotated.

'10. A curtain crane support, comprising a bracket formed with a bearing for the pivot shank of the crane, and an arm mounted on said bracket carrying a stop member adapted to be contacted by the crane to limit the inward swinging movement of the latter.

11. A curtain crane support, comprising a bracket formed with a bearing for the pivot shank of the crane, and an arm mounted on said bracket carrying a lock serving to yieldably hold the crane against outward movement.

12. A curtain crane support, comprising a bracket formed with a bearing for the pivot shank of the crane, and a spring arm mounted on said bracket, said arm at its free end carrying a seat for the curtain supporting limb of the crane.

13. A curtain crane support, comprising a bracket formed with a bearing for the pivot shank of the crane, and a spring arm mounted on said bracket, said arm at its free end carrying a seat for the curtain-supporting limb of the crane, and said seat having a cam lip over which said limb snaps into said seat when the crane is swung inwardly.

JAMES H. BOYE. 

